West Indies Win Convincing Five-Wicket Victory Over Bangladesh in 1st ODI

Rutherford’s Maiden ODI Century Leads Windies to Victory

Justin Greaves (left) congratulates Sherfane Rutherford on his century during the 1st ODI between West Indies and Bangladesh

BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – Not even a slow start and being struck twice on the helmet could deny Sherfane Rutherford his maiden One Day International century on Sunday.

The 26-year-old left-hander continued his sizzling start to his ODI career by blasting a match-winning 113 from just 80 balls with eight sixes and seven fours to help guide the West Indies to a convincing five-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the opening ODI at Warner Park.

Rutherford added 99 runs with captain Shai Hope, who made 86, for the fourth wicket to help propel West Indies to 295 for five in pursuit of Bangladesh’s 294 for six.

It was his fifth consecutive score of over 50 in ODIs, becoming the fourth West Indian after Gordon Greendige, Chris Gayle, and Shai Hope to achieve the feat.

In 10 ODIs, Rutherford has scored 443 runs and averages an impressive 73.83.

However, he had to overcome a nervous start and some hostile bowling from fast bowler Taskin Ahmed, who twice struck him with short-pitched deliveries on his way to reaching three figures.

In an interview following his Player-of-the-Match performance, Rutherford said his early challenges helped him stay focused during his innings.

“It’s always a good feeling scoring your first century. It’s what we all play cricket for, and I’m happy I did it for my team today.

“I just took my eyes off the ball and got hit, but it’s a part of the game. I think it gave me a bit of a boost and helped me to focus more, so at the end of the day, I’m willing to take a hit for my team, and once I score runs, I’m happy,” Rutherford said.

“It was a bit of a tough to start for me as well, but it was a good wicket, so I planned to give myself some time, and I knew that once I gave myself some time, I could always make up in the end and the conversation with the skipper was to take it deep and he reminded me that I could make it up in the back end.”

Rutherford said that while Bangladesh did well to reach their eventual total, he credited the West Indies bowlers with helping to restrict them at the death on a perfect batting track.

“I think we bowled well; they batted well, but we pulled them back at the back end.

“At the end of the day, it was our plan to try and restrict them to the lowest total possible, so it was good for the bowlers and us,” Rutherford said.

Conclusion

Sherfane Rutherford’s maiden ODI century led the West Indies to a convincing five-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the opening ODI at Warner Park. Despite a slow start and a few scares, Rutherford’s impressive innings and some good bowling from the West Indies bowlers helped guide the team to victory.